LGBT issues in the spotlight at Voltaire Society

This week’s Voltaire Society invited Leanne Newbold, co-ordinator of the island’s LGBT Youth Group. This was the second meeting of the spring programme, organised by newly elected co-presidents, Shanne Gutierrez and Jack Smollen.

At today’s meeting a wide range of issues were explored, including changes in societal attitudes to LGBT rights over recent decades, the role of media in shaping public opinion and the vital importance of language when it comes to treating individuals with respect.

Jack said, “one of the key messages from today is that, even though progress has been made in terms of legislation, I can see there is still work to do. This includes understanding the experience of minority groups on the island and promoting a culture of true respect for individual rights.”

Co-president Shanne Gutierrez agreed: “Education has a key role to play in this respect, I think. It was really good to see such a good turnout at the meeting and the positive contributions made by all the students.”

This previous meeting, which looked at the issue of gun ownership, included a presentation by Paul Mihailovits, Secretary of the Blue Point Shooting Club.